Referee's deserve to be assessed differently
Credit:
I want to be clear from the outset: referees had nothing to do with my
current status as an unemployed football manager. To a large extent I
have great admiration for the men and women in black because the truth
is there is nothing on this earth that would convince me to be a
referee at any level in this or any other country. It is no secret the
referees in our league are well compensated and as far as I am
concerned they earn every penny they get.
I had a go at reffing some of our training ground 5 a-sides with the teams I have managed and trust me even then it is a hard job. So much that I stopped for fear of possibly overreacting to players when in their mind I gave a wrong decision. It takes a certain kind of mindset to stand there and listen to players shout obscenities at you, a mindset that I and many others do not seem to possess.
Referees have the potential to win or lose your team a league; they have the potential to ensure your safety in a league, or indeed promotion. I do not believe referees go out with the intention of giving decisions against you although the paranoia in us think some of them do particularly in big games, where if we lose the first person we look at is the person in the middle.
At the start of every season most managers will sit down and set a points total for each series of games taking all eventualities into account, such as your projective acceptable points total for away games and the same but with a higher accumulation for home games. Obviously the strength of your squad will dictate what targets are realistically achievable then they take into account the miscellaneous equation. Can your best players stay fit? Can your team maintain high consistently levels for the season? And amongst other factors, how many points will incorrect decisions from officials (however unintentional they are) cost your team per series? A stone wall penalty denied can be the difference of a 1-0 win or a 0-0 draw, as is the case with good goals been denied with incorrect offside decisions, or very dubious penalties and offside goals awarded against you cost your team points they scarcely deserved to lose. From a personal perspective I used to knock five points a series off my squads total for incorrect decisions and pray that it would be less.
Referees are human and, like us all, they make mistakes but I wonder sometimes how much pressure is put on them from their assessors. I have bore witness to referees been given forceful instruction from assessors before games and critical assessments moments after the game has finished, this to my mind makes what is a very difficult job for officials even more so. I have watched officials during my time come through the ranks of the u-20s league and A championship. When they were officiating these games they done so in a manner that was enjoyable for them, they rarely showed their cards, enjoyed good banter with the players and coaches. And yes, they even smiled because they were enjoying their work and officiating with common sense.
It is amazing to see the change in their demeanour when they step up into first division football. Maybe if the assessors stayed in the background on match days and reviewed the referee’s performance maybe two days after the game in a less emotive environment, like where the officials train rather than the dressing room, it could possibly help the officials relax and enjoy the game a bit more.
And help them get the big decisions right.
I had a go at reffing some of our training ground 5 a-sides with the teams I have managed and trust me even then it is a hard job. So much that I stopped for fear of possibly overreacting to players when in their mind I gave a wrong decision. It takes a certain kind of mindset to stand there and listen to players shout obscenities at you, a mindset that I and many others do not seem to possess.
Referees have the potential to win or lose your team a league; they have the potential to ensure your safety in a league, or indeed promotion. I do not believe referees go out with the intention of giving decisions against you although the paranoia in us think some of them do particularly in big games, where if we lose the first person we look at is the person in the middle.
At the start of every season most managers will sit down and set a points total for each series of games taking all eventualities into account, such as your projective acceptable points total for away games and the same but with a higher accumulation for home games. Obviously the strength of your squad will dictate what targets are realistically achievable then they take into account the miscellaneous equation. Can your best players stay fit? Can your team maintain high consistently levels for the season? And amongst other factors, how many points will incorrect decisions from officials (however unintentional they are) cost your team per series? A stone wall penalty denied can be the difference of a 1-0 win or a 0-0 draw, as is the case with good goals been denied with incorrect offside decisions, or very dubious penalties and offside goals awarded against you cost your team points they scarcely deserved to lose. From a personal perspective I used to knock five points a series off my squads total for incorrect decisions and pray that it would be less.
Referees are human and, like us all, they make mistakes but I wonder sometimes how much pressure is put on them from their assessors. I have bore witness to referees been given forceful instruction from assessors before games and critical assessments moments after the game has finished, this to my mind makes what is a very difficult job for officials even more so. I have watched officials during my time come through the ranks of the u-20s league and A championship. When they were officiating these games they done so in a manner that was enjoyable for them, they rarely showed their cards, enjoyed good banter with the players and coaches. And yes, they even smiled because they were enjoying their work and officiating with common sense.
It is amazing to see the change in their demeanour when they step up into first division football. Maybe if the assessors stayed in the background on match days and reviewed the referee’s performance maybe two days after the game in a less emotive environment, like where the officials train rather than the dressing room, it could possibly help the officials relax and enjoy the game a bit more.
And help them get the big decisions right.
